“Writing is, in the end, that oddest of anomalies: an intimate letter to a stranger.” – Pico Ayer, author of The Global Soul.
The 2026 Allingham Poetry and Flash Fiction Competitions are now open!
Prizes: €300 for First Prize in each category.
Closing Date: September 27th.
Rules & Entry info: https://www.allinghamfestival.com/fiction-poetry...
Winners will read their entries and receive prizes during the Allingham Festival in November.
In addition to prizes of €300, the first-place winners of the Allingham Competitions will also be recognised as winners of the 2026 Francis Harvey Poetry Award and the Keane Family Fiction Award. Worldwide entries are welcome.
Publisher and poet Kate Newmann will judge the 2026 Poetry Competitions.
Fiction entries will be judged by Patrick Holloway, author and writer-in-residence at Maynooth University.
Previous winners of the Allingham Competitions have included Una Mannion, author of 'A Crooked Tree' and 'Tell Me What I Am', and E.M. Reapy, author of 'Skin' and 'Red Dirt'.
Competitors must be 18 years old by 7 Nov 2026. Entry forms and competition rules are detailed on the the competitions page: https://www.allinghamfestival.com/fiction-poetry-competitions-2026
The 2026 Allingham Festival will take place in Ballyshannon, Co Donegal from November 4th to the 8th.
Headline guests will include Irish Author of the Year Elaine Feeney, memoirist and podcaster Michael Harding, writer and journalist Róisin Ingle and humourist Paul Howard (Ross O’Carroll-Kelly).
The 2026 Allingham Poetry and Flash Fiction Awards Ceremony will take place on Saturday 7 November.